THE WEAPONS OF THE FUTURE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 7, 9 January 1871, Page 4

THE WEAPONS OF THE FUTURE.

In July .1866, in the Paris Illustration, war was represented, from the first blbw given by Caiu to his brother Abel, till the end of all warfare and universal peace. The successive inventions of the stick, .the bludgeoD, the falchion, the sword, gunpowder, the arquebuse, cannon were followed .up by turns, exciting admiration for the genius of humanity applied to the mechanical process of mutual destruction. This was accompanied by illustrative! pictures. Afc last there was this splendid series : — 1861.-— The Nekdle-gun.— But the genius of mankind having no limits, the needle-gun was invented; remarkable discovery. You may be so fortunate as to kill ten fellow creatures at a distance of 50Q 'metres, : before the enemy can kill one! . Gtory to the needle-gun.. The soldiers are proclaimed engineers. ;. and the inventor, field-marshal engineer, and *■ the commander-in-chief. The war of thirty years lasts thirty days. The Peacock's -tail Musket. — "War of 1870 — -but the chief engineer, of the enemy's army invented the peaeock's-tail musket of. the streugth of twenty-five needle-guns. One of the&e can destroy a small company, at a distance of 2000 metres. The engineers, carrying pea-cocks-tail muskets, carry off many laurels. The war of thirty days lasts three days. The Electrical Barrel-Organ Gun. — War of 1890. — The enemy's engineers are. not discouraged — they invent the barrel-organ gun, with a double electric battery, and playing military tunes of the force of 25 peacocks-tail muskets. One man on playing his organ destroys in three minutes' time, and at a distance of 2500 metres, a whole battalion. The thirty days war only lasts a day and a half. Steam-Gun Vith Continuous Fire. —War of 1890. Fof this war. the steam gun is invented, firing coutinuoiisly, being worked like a pump, of the strength of 25 ; electrical barrel-organ guns.. It destroys a regiment in a minute at a distance of. 3000* metres. Glory to steam power. The thirty days' war lasts twenty-four hours. The Surprising- Shell. — War of 1900.-— The engiueer-chemist-machinist-in-chief of the army, beaten by steam power, profits during the leisure hours of peace to invent a surprising suffocating shell, with a triple electric current aud a quadruple base of prussic. acid — destroyed a division all at once at sixteen miles distance. Another Surprising Shell, Breveted S.G.D.G.---— But the field .marshalengineer — chemist -machinist of the enemy's army having also discovered the -suffocating shell, with 25 elements of hyper-cbncentrated azote, also destroying an army-corps at sixteen miles distance —the shells are fired suddenly into the centre bf both armies. General Peace. —Finale. — Both armies. fall down completely suffocated.. Calm, is re-established. Tranquility reigusi ; The thirty, years' war has only lasted three minutes^